Chapter 18: The Market Planet, Barter
After landing the ship in docking station, the two companions made their way towards the market.
Null rode on Theef's right shoulder as they travelled through the bustling stalls with different wares and buyers trying to bargain for a deal.
The commotion around the entire stretch of the way completely overwhelmed Null as he saw bizarre looking creatures both humanoid and not.
"You look pale. Is it because of your hunger? What're you in the mood for little one, my treat," Theef flashed his toothless grin.
"As long as it's not alive or slimy, whatever you find is good with me." Null's imagination was running wild as he had yet to settle into the new environment.
And so Theef left Null on a bench to acquire their meal with his five-finger discount method.
Left alone to marvel at the crowds around him, Null closed his eyes and listened to the cacophony of alien language flooding the market.
He enjoyed the new experience, resigning himself to get Theef to get him a translator of his own.
All of a sudden, a large impact exploded a stall in the direction Theef had just gone in. People began panicking and fleeing from the direction of the destruction, spreading a wave of fear amongst the crowd of buyers and sellers.
Null didn't hesitate to jump into the air and propel himself with the explosive variant of his ability before soaring towards the source.
There, he saw Theef unconscious in a bed of rubble and a scary presence a way away from the scene making his way towards him.
"When are you going to learn filthy thief bastard! I've told you how many times already, if I caught you stealing again, you'd be imprisoned for life; yet you still insist on coming back and spitting in my face."
A large two-and-a-half-meter tall law enforcer geared up in a cloak and suit went and cuffed Theef in an arm restraint that made him hover behind him as he made his way to the prison.
Null noted the piece at his hip and figured he was the real deal.
'Tch. And he claims to be a good thief. What kind of bullshit is this?' Null made his way towards the exiting officer.
"Um, excuse me sir!" He called out to the man.
The law enforcer turned around to see a floating baby beckoning him to stop. Not the weirdest thing he'd seen if he was to be honest, so he responded kindly unlike anything he displayed previously.
He brought out his communicator and spoke, "Ah, yes. Is there anything I can do for you little one. Do you happen to be lost or something of the sort."
"Oh no, not at all. I'm just here to inquire about my friend here you see."
Null soon regretted the decision to call himself the friend of a recently detained criminal.
"Oh, is that right," the officer's eyes squinted.
"Yes, I was just wondering if you could let him go for me as we we're on a-"
"With all due respect young man, this is a criminal that I've personally detained on at least one hundred and twenty-four separate occasions. If there was anybody who had ever stepped foot on this planet that deserves to be behind bars is this-" he would have continued, but Null's actions stopped his speech.
Null raised a finger to the sky to the confusion of the enforcer but began concentrating on forming the disastrous energy that he learned during his fight against the creator.
Vrrrrr!
The same distorted wind up from before was now displayed before the entire Barter Market for all eyes to see.
"Whatever you're doing boy, I suggest you stop before you join your friend here for a life in prison."
His threat failed to persuade Null as he fired the tiny reddish-pink bullet into the sky.
VZZBOOM!!!
An enormous shockwave that shook the entire market and brought an even greater chaos to the poor innocent bystanders.
Null's eyes never moved off Zangar from start to finish as he motioned for him to hand over Theef.
'This is bad. This is really bad.' Zangar knew that he was in for trouble if he refused.
"This is Enforcer Zangar requesting immediate backup to the open market. I've got the piece of shit thief detained but he's got a friend with some massive firepower." He spoke into a device on his shoulder.
"C'mon man, don't call for backup. We just wanted some food. I'm just so very hungry you see." Null tried to use his appearance to his advantage, hoping to appeal to the enforcer's emotions.
"Hah?! This motherfucker was trying to take an enchanted boomerang from a poor old lady for crying out loud you demon child. The only thing you're hungry for is violence from what you've shown me."
The dutiful man brought out a wooden boomerang with blue etchings lining its body.
'Ahhh. So, you went and did it huh.' Null couldn't be bothered with Theef anymore.
"My mistake officer, wrong guy," he saluted in a goofy manner with his pudgy little arm, "Don't work too hard for me alright?"
He then went back to his bench to observe the wary citizens now staring at him like he was a monster.
'Guess I'll eat some air.' He had resigned himself to his new life.
"Hello there young one." The robotic voice of a translator suddenly crept into his ears.
'Too close!'
A strange man approached Null in a very intrusive way by sticking his face in Null's own.
Null generated a purple energy that repulsed the strange individual far into the air before he crashed into the ground, destroying a couple of stands on his way.
'Uh oh,' Null knew nothing good would come out of this.
The strange man picked himself up and reoriented himself on the powerful youngling, his face bleeding and clothes torn and dirtied.
Null could make out that he was saying something, but the distance made it impossible to hear. His roughed-up victim apologized to the merchants and passed them some coins before walking back to Null with a smile on his face.
'Ahhh. I really fucked up now. Don't tell me I have to fight someone like this.'
Null wouldn't refrain from fight if someone insisted on bothering him, but he had to make sure to weigh the consequences beforehand after being advised about karma and sin.